Skywalk Grand Canyon - Peach Springs, AZ - a walk in the sky overlooking the Grand Canyon

The Skywalk at the Grand Canyon is the only one of its kind. Four thousand feet over the Colorado River the cantilever bridge with a glass bottom opened on the 28th of March in 2007 and provides visitors with a bird's eye view of the Canyon. There have been almost a million visitors since it opened. The bridge goes seventy feet out from the rim of the Grand Canyon with a steel frame that is two inches thick and designed to be flexible in the wind, cold and heat. The skywalk's frame is anchored to the Grand Canyon with micro piles and casens that extend forty-six feet into the bedrock.

The Hualapai Tribe built the skywalk to give visitors to the Grand Canyon a unique experience. More than a million pounds of steel were used to construct the skywalk which is taller than the Empire State Building. The bridge was designed to hold more than seventy-one million pounds and stand up to winds of one hundred miles an hour. When the bridge was constructed engineers figured the possibility of earthquakes in as well. It was designed to withstand an earthquake that is a maximum of 8.0 on the Richter scale within fifty miles of the Canyon itself. All forty-six panes that make up the walkway consist of five layers of laminated and bonded glass, each piece weights 1200 pounds to make it strong while still giving a view of the Grand Canyon.

The Skywalk at the Grand Canyon is just a portion of Grand Canyon West which is a six thousand square foot development. Grand Canyon West includes a restaurant, visitors' center and gift shop as well. While the Skywalk offers a unique experience when it comes to viewing the Grand Canyon there were several arguments against it to begin with. Among them were that it is horrible looking and that it is turning a natural wonder into a commercial tourist attraction. Other arguments against the glass bridge were the lack of telephones, electrical service and water.

The Hualapai Tribe manages the Skywalk Grand Canyon which is located on the tribal lands. There is a fee to enter the reservations and parts of it are off limits to the public. The costs for entering the Grand Canyon West is $29.95 a person with an addition costs of $29.95 for accessing the Skywalk. There are no personal items allowed on the Skywalk Grand Canyon due to the danger of dropping them and damaging the surface of the bridge. There are lockers available to leave personal items in and photos taken by a professional photographer which can be purchased at the visitors' center.

The Skywalk at the Grand Canyon is open from 8a.m. until 6p.m. during the winter. Summer hours are from 7a.m. until 8p.m. and being on the first of May. Those that have bought overnight packages can stay in the Canyon overnight. The Skywalk Cafy offers a variety of menu options for those that are visiting the canyon. A trip to the skywalk is for anyone that has always wanted to walk on air over the Grand Canyon.